Leeds United's influx of players from Italian football could well continue in January - if sporting director Nicola Salerno has his way, at least.

The Whites already signed the likes of Giuseppe Bellusci, Tommaso Bianchi and Mirco Antenucci over the summer, but Salerno wants two more players in January with Leeds down in 19th place.

An experienced midfielder is on the transfer wish list, as is another striker - which is believed to be Sassuolo's Leonardo Pavoletti.

The 26-year-old resembles more of a target man figure, which is something Leeds need after the departure of Matt Smith to Fulham in September.

With 24 goals for Varese on loan last season, Pavoletti was a target for Leeds in the summer, but Sassuolo chose to keep him - yet now, with no starts this season and just one goal, it seemed that a January exit was on the cards, with Leeds leading the race for his signature.

However, Leeds could be dealt a blow in their pursuit of Pavoletti, with Sassuolo potentially set to sell their star striker - meaning Pavoletti could now be needed.

Italian international Simone Zaza was partly owned by Juventus before being sold to Sassuolo in a €7.5m deal this summer, yet with the 23-year-old scoring four goals in ten Serie A games, Juventus now want to re-sign him to add competition for Carlos Tevez, Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Morata.

If the Bianconeri can tie up a deal for Zaza, then Sassuolo will be left short of striking talent. Antonio Floro Flores and Sergio Floccari offer some experienced depth, but with Juventus also targeting a return for Domenico Berardi, Pavoletti may become more important - especially after his goal against Palermo last week.

This will be an interesting situation to monitor in the coming weeks, with Pavoletti seemingly Leeds' top target after Salerno's recent comments.

Olly Dawes

Olly is a Sports Management graduate and aspiring journalist, with most of his work surrounding football or NFL. He has formed two of his own sites, as well as contributing to a number of others before starting with Here Is The City.